Chapter 158

"What's his problem?" Allie asked.

The other women watched open-mouthed as Adam stormed out.

"I'm not sure," Rebecca replied. She glanced around the corner and saw the front door close. "I think we pissed him off. What were you talking about beforehand?"

"The same stuff," Allie answered. "He was telling us why we should take less."

"And we were arguing with him about it," Trinity added with a frown. "Then Becs comes in and it's like suddenly he isn't an idiot because one of us is on his side. Yeah, I can see why he'd be a little upset. How long did you fight about it before you came to get us?"

"A few minutes," Allie said. "It wasn't really arguing. I mean, I guess I knew he was right. What he said made sense. I just didn't like it."

"You have to stop doing that, Allie," Shelly said. "If one of us with a pussy tells you the moon is made of green cheese you accept it as fact. If Adam tells you water is wet, you bicker with him. It's been that way for a few days. What's up?"

"I don't think anything is up," Allie said. "He's just, well... , he's just been on my nerves, maybe."

"Why?" Trinity asked. "I mean, has he done or said anything?"

"I don't know," Allie said defensively. "I don't know why I've been shitty with him. OK? I'm sure he was has been sweet and lovable and wonderful. He always is."

Sarah, Erin and Karlie heard the slamming door and Allie's loud voice and came to investigate.

"Problems?" Sarah asked.

"Adam is on Allie's nerves," Trinity synopsized.

"Oh, that's no shock," Karlie said with a smile. "He's always on someone's nerves. It's just Allie's turn, I guess. What happened?"

"I'm serious," Allie said.

"So am I," Karlie replied. "Hell, there isn't a day goes by that one of you doesn't manage to tick me off in some way. It's not always Adam but he does it, too."

"Like what?" Allie asked. She really couldn't figure out why she was pissed at Adam and was looking for answers.

"Leaving the cap off the toothpaste," Karlie said.

"That's me," Trinity admitted.

"I know it is and the next time you're looking at a peppermint enema," Karlie said. Then she winked.

"I think I know what's bothering you, Allie," Erin said quietly.

"Good because I sure as hell don't," Allie groused.

"Right now, the projects he's helping with don't involve you," Erin answered. She was ready for Allie to turn on her but she continued. "Trinity was with him during the AMS thing. Shelly has been helping him with his lines. Karlie has been fitting him for costumes. I've been working with him on photography. Sarah went out with him last night. That leaves you and Rebecca on the outside, sort of. But only for now. It will go back to normal in a few days."

"I don't feel neglected!" Allie said loudly.

"I do," Rebecca admitted. "I think that's why I've been so critical of him. It's like an abused child. Any attention – even if it's negative – is sought. I particularly get upset when he has time to hang out with Lucy or Anya and Katya. Are you sure you're not doing the same thing?"

"I don't care if he's too busy to spend time with me," Allie said. "I have you to spend time with. I had a great time with Shelly last night. Karlie and I went to the grocery store and I think we laughed the whole time. Even studying with you was great. I don't need Adam Walters to make me happy."

"I do," Sarah said simply. "I need Adam just as much as I need all of you. I feel like something is missing when any of you get tied up on something and we don't get to spend time together."

"That's what I meant," Allie said. "I didn't mean I don't care if he's not around. I don't know what I mean."

Tears formed in Allie's eyes.

"Fine, I miss him," she said. "There are times when I really want to talk to him or just sit with him and he's off with Rachelle or Katey. He makes time to handle everything except things in this house."

"Well, we really don't let him handle much here," Shelly said. "Look at the battle we put up when we all knew he was right. Talk to him. He spends time with Rebecca because she makes him spend time with her. He loves you Allie. If I had to bet, he loved you before he loved any of the rest of us. I think he loved you the moment he met you."

Allie rolled her eyes.

"He was already in love with you when I met him," she pointed out.

"Not really," Shelly countered. "He loved the girl who used to live in this body. The one there now has taken some time for him to get used to. But you need to let him know how you feel. You too, Rebecca, he's just a guy, after all."

Adam had planned to drive away for a little while when he left the house. Rebecca's SUV blocking the driveway and his car put an end to that idea. Everyone in the house had a key to his car but he had a key to no one else's.

He muttered an oath and stalked off down the block. He turned the corner and found a seat to take stock of things on a piece of equipment that Walt's dad had brought over.

It seemed to him that no matter what he did someone was pissed at him for it. If he had sat silently that evening, someone would have blamed him for letting them pack so much. If it wasn't one of the girls angry that he hadn't spoken up, it would be one of the others for being forced to wait.

It was that way with almost everything. There were too many personalities in the group for everyone to be happy with anything. The women at this house were just a subset of the group as a whole.

Rebecca had chided him for every fault – real and imagined – over the past week but Allie had become the worst about it. Every time Adam had seen her in the past few days she had glared at him or snapped at him or simply ignored his presence completely. She wasn't that way with anyone else.

He caught a flashlight bobbing in the darkness around the corner of the house.

"Adam?" a voice asked. "Are you out here?"

He thought about ignoring Allie but there were too many hazards he'd crossed to get there for it be safe for her.

"Yeah," he said.

There was a pause.

"Can I come join you?" she wondered.

"Be careful," he said. "The planks are a little wobbly. I about landed in the ditch there."

He watched as Allie picked her way through the construction site and across the planks laid to cover the hole where the sewage would connect to the system.

She found him sitting on a small earthmover. He extended a hand and helped her climb over the tracks and on to the seat with him. She didn't sit beside him. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sorry," Allie said.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Adam retorted. "Rebecca's opinion is obviously more impressive than mine."

"That's not it and that's not what I'm apologizing for," Allie said softly. "I've been short-tempered all week."

"With me," Adam said. She didn't miss the hurt in his voice.

"With you," she admitted. "I guess I've just missed you."

Adam turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of Allie's face. He couldn't because it was pressed against his shoulder.

"I wasn't trying to avoid you, Allie," he said. "I'm sorry if I gave you that idea."

"I didn't get that idea," she said. "It just seemed that way. Every time I would look for you – to share something with you or tell you something or just to give you a hug – you'd be somewhere else doing something with someone else."

Adam thought back to the past few days. He hadn't seen Allie for more than a minute or two at a time.

"So you thought being a little shit would encourage me to seek you out to spend time together," he asked. He hoped his voice was light because he was trying to make a joke.

"I saw Rebecca get on your case and you'd snap back," she said. "Then she would at least get 20 or 30 minutes to talk to you. I guess my twisted logic figured if I pushed you a little we might get to do the same thing. Instead you just threw up your hands and walked off. I had to chase you down."

"I'm glad you did," he said. "I was just sitting here thinking back to one of our first conversations. You told me you had a tendency to pull away when someone got close. I worried that you had begun doing that and I'd been too caught up to notice. I worried you might be ready to leave and I hadn't done anything to make you stay. I'm sorry, too."

"I'm not leaving," Allie said. "I guess I just... , I don't know. I wanted you to remember that I was there during the daytime too. I didn't do it very well but I didn't expect you to leave either."

Adam gave a slight chuckle.

"With Rebecca, Karlie and Sarah, I can snap back," he said. "Even with Shelly now – which surprised me. They take what I say as it is meant and don't take it personally. Erin, Trinity and you, I can't. Erin is so unused to having someone treat her decently that every time I say anything remotely negative, it goes straight to her insecurities. Trinity, too, now that I think about it, she isn't insecure about herself. No, she is unsure about her place with all of us. So I have to really watch what I say. Then there is you."

"I'm not insecure and I don't take things personally," Allie insisted.

"No, that's true," Adam said, a wry smile crossing his lips in the darkness. "You just get pissed off. An innocuous statement can get you riled up. If I'd told you what I really wanted to say, we would still be inside and you'd be throwing stuff by now."

"Maybe," Allie admitted. "Depends on what you wanted to say."

"Oh, there is no maybe about it," Adam said. "Because the first words that hit my brain were not kind at all. Luckily, I didn't speak them, for once. I'm glad I didn't because it wasn't true. It was just a way to get to you. I care too much about you to hurt you purposefully."

"So, I don't care about you as much?" Allie wondered.

"No," Adam said. "I didn't mean to infer that. We're all just so different. I wish I had more hours in my day. I really do. I've missed you, too. But every time I would catch your eye you looked so angry over something, I just peeled off and did something else."

"Self-fulfilling prophecy," Allie remarked. "Great."

"You want to ride to Vegas with me?" Adam asked. "It will give us time to catch up."

"I won't be done Tuesday until after you want to leave," Allie said.

"I'll wait – for you," he replied. "But I have to warn you. It's not going to be a fun trip. The air conditioner barely works and it's not a comfortable ride."

"That just means I won't wear very much," Allie said. "Or maybe anything."

"Your butt will stick to the vinyl seats and you'll wind up with third-degree burns on your tushy," Adam said. "It'll probably take us hours longer because we won't be able to go more than 35 or 40 miles per hour in places. I just don't want you to agree and then be pissed because you didn't get to have a nice cushy ride over."

"No, I'll go with you," Allie said brightly. "We can put towels on the seat and stuff. I wish we could leave Monday. Then we could spend the night alone in that big bed – and maybe a few other beds – before the others got there."

"And they'd skin both of us alive," Adam said. "If you're sure, I'd like for you to go with me."

"I wish I'd brought a blanket out with me," Allie said.

"Chilly?" Adam asked, wrapping his arms around her tighter and running his hands across her bare arms.

"No but I think it would be cool to just lay out here and look at the stars with you," she said. "Maybe we can plan that for our date night."